Pepsi Teams With Guy Fieri For Super Bowl Tailgate After Ceding Halftime Show Sponsorship

Posted by Jenniffer Sheldon on Sunday, March 3, 2024

Guy Fieri‘s second stab at creating a giant Super Bowl tailgate party has a massive new backer.

PepsiCo, one of the most stalwart of Super Bowl advertisers, is taking a title sponsorship in Guy Fieri’s Flavortown Tailgate, a free party organized by the celebrity chef that will be held just minutes away from Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, the site of Super Bowl LVIII, slated to be broadcast on CBS on February 11, 2024. Fieri held the first Flavortown Tailgate earlier this year at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, close to the action for Super Bowl LVII.

Pepsi is adding a new flavor to the mix. Not only has the beverage giant gotten Fieri and his organizers to add its moniker to the name — the official title is “Guy’s Flavortown Tailgate is Better with Pepsi” — but it will place an oversized Pepsi bar at the event, and serve custom cocktails featuring its flagship cola. Visitors will be able to see how Pepsi goes with wings, pizza, and burgers. A Pepsi Main Stage will serve as a place for music, including live performances by Dustin Lynch and Diplo.

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“It’s a well known fact that food tastes better with an ice-cold refreshing Pepsi– so we couldn’t be more thrilled that Guy Fieri, one of the most influential voices in the culinary world, agrees,” said Todd Kaplan, Pepsi’s chief marketing officer, said in a prepared statement. “Guy’s indulgent culinary creations are the perfect compliment to Pepsi — especially with the unapologetic backdrop of Las Vegas! We can’t think of a better way for fans to enjoy gameday — with food, football, Vegas, and Pepsi.”

Pepsi boards the celebrity chef’s massive event about a year after ceding the Super Bowl’s annual halftime show to Apple Music. Pepsi in 2022 decided to walk away from a decade-long association with the event during which it moved the mid-game extravaganza away from a roster of primarily rock musicians like Bruce Springsteen and Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers in favor of a new group of artists who are favored by the younger generations that advertisers and the NFL seek to court. The NFL was said to be seeking significantly higher annual payments for the sponsorship rights.

Now the beverage giant, which has continued to advertise its wares during the Super Bowl, has a new way to get its drink on.

Fieri’s event attracted more than 10,000 fans at its 2023 debut. Organizers of next year’s blow-out anticipate more than 15,000 attendees. The tailgate will feature more than 20 restaurants and food concepts designed by the Food Network star himself.

Other marketers are also taking part. Anheuser-Busch, Cash App, Kingsford, Celsius Essential Energy, Kingsford, King’s Hawaiian, Papa John’s, Caesars Rewards, Klutch Vodka, Tyson Foods, Best Foods, Two Roads Brewing Company and TickPick and Santo Tequila will all provide products as part of their involvement with the party. Fieri’s own Flavortown Cookware and Santo Tequila will also be featured.

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